Mother Teresa Inc. Charismatic Leader’s Death May Endanger Fund Raising For The Poor

Mother Teresa, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping the poorest of the poor, never considered herself a social worker. She portrayed herself as a humble missionary spreading the Gospel.

She also tried to reject the notion that she was responsible for running a business, saying instead, “We completely depend on providence.”

But as the head of Calcutta-based Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa was a corporate chieftain of sorts, a single-minded spiritual leader who had the ear of the Vatican, presidents and royalty and who built a worldwide organization of 4,000 nuns operating more than 500 homes and hospices in 120 countries.

Her death last week at the age of 87 raises the question of whether the order can succeed without her charismatic presence.

Although many say the Missionaries of Charity will certainly survive, they acknowledge what is true of many businesses after a founder dies: For the first time, the order will have to depend more on organizational abilities than personal leadership, especially for fund raising.

There are many stories of how Mother Teresa, through shows of devout faith and the force of her personality, was able to persuade dictators to open their doors to her and collect tens of millions of dollars from wealthy donors.

Charles Keating, the savings-and-loan operator, reportedly gave her $1.2 million and the use of his jet. When he went to trial in California on fraud charges, she wrote Judge Lance Ito praising Keating for his generosity.

“She surely got money because she was Mother Teresa,” said the Rev. Camille Bouche, a Calcutta priest for 50 years who is a spiritual father to Missionaries of Charity novices.

“In the near-term, people will continue to give, but after two or three years, I don’t know. It will very much depend on how (the order’s new leaders) use their money. If they keep on looking after the poor, they will be all right, though the flow of money may slow down.”